Xinhua :
Talks on a truce in the Gaza conflict are making progress as Cairo is conducting intensifying contacts with all concerned parties, Egypt’s Al-Qahera News reported on Thursday, quoting a high-ranking Egyptian source.
There is a breakthrough in the truce talks as “Hamas shows more flexibility on the release of hostages,” two security sources confirmed to Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
“Egypt is racing time to reach a ceasefire deal that is likely to be implemented in three stages,” added the sources.
Meanwhile, Hamas said its delegation will visit Egypt soon to further ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip.
A Qatari delegation is headed to Cairo as diplomatic efforts are stepped up to stop Israel from going ahead with its offensive in Rafah – the last refuge for 1.5 million Palestinians.
In a phone call with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh appreciated Egypt’s role and expressed the movement’s “positive spirit” in studying the ceasefire proposal.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States are seeking to reach a deal for a prisoner exchange and a second ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, following the first one that ended last December.
Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.
Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, has quoted an Israeli official as saying that Israel is determined to invade Rafah.
The head of the UN World Food Programme says northern Gaza is now experiencing a “full-blown famine”. Thousands of Palestinians are starving as Israel has restricted the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
At least 34,654 Palestinians have been killed and 77,908 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139 with dozens of people still held captive.
